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Abstract |
The Wilderness area Simulation Model was developed in 1972 by Resources for the Future with programming assistance from IBM. It simulates parties moving through a wilderness and records the number of encounters each party experiences. The model has been applied to the Spanish Peaks Primitive Area in Montana, the Adirondack Forest Reserve in New York, the Desolation Wilderness in California, the complex of the wilderness areas surrounding and including Yosemite National Park, the Green and Yampa Rivers in Dinosaur Monument, the Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Vermont. In its time, the model was a useful tool for establishing the relationship between use levels and encounters and testing management alternatives. As innovative as the model was, recent advances in behavioral science and computer technology have rendered it out of date. |
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